RaNdOm StUff

I can't wait until next year's Mother's Day, when I have my little one in my arms, but I still am a mother this year!

My mom got me a card, to her "favorite mom-to- be!" and a blue candle.

Doug got me a super sweet card, "You'll be the best mom ever!", and pink roses.

He also made a delicious surf & turf dinner that night. It was a really nice day!

Parker already has QUITE the wardrobe building up - 16 outfits & onsies! My mom and I both can't stop buying him stuff, hehe. Okay, it's mostly me, but she helps! ;)

(And his first book!)

From Doug's mom!

Yay for dinosaur burp cloths!

He also has quite the book collection coming along!! 30 so far!!! Plus 4 more Baby Einstein's that I ordered that should be on their way.

Reading to kids is soo important. My family are a bunch of readers (Grandma, Aunt, cousin, her daughter, mom and me), and Doug loves to read. I really want to pass that on to Parker. I thought we'd only need 2 of the Ikea spice rack book shelves! Yeah right.. more like at LEAST 4.

And last, but not least, his collection of bibs - 8 (3 are at Grandma's house)! (Spoiled much already? lol)...

(On the right is a bib/burp cloth set from Doug's

mom - sooo cute, love the colors!)

What's SUPER awesome, is that as far as the outfits - I got the 2 bigger lots at consignment sales for less than $15 each. The group with hangers are the only new (Target) items I've bought. And as far as the books - the large collection of Disneys I got from Craigslist - 27 books for $20! And the other 3 I got at consignment sales -about $5 for all 3. I'm super proud of myself! And it makes me feel a LOT better about my ridiculous shopaholic-ness lol.

Aunty Erin bought Parker this as soon as she knew he was a boy:

Thank you Aunty Erin & Claire! <3

I was going to do his nursery in a giraffe theme, but changed my mind. But don't worry, he's collecting quite a few giraffe items anyways - I still think they're super cute!

We also went to the zoo today (pics in next post!) and I got Parker these two rattles - sooo cute.

I couldn't pick between the giraffe and the elephant, so I got both hehe. I also love that you can see my bump in this pic :) Hello, Parker!

A couple other items that have been ordered and I can't WAIT to get in the mail:

Thanks to a post on Babycenter, I found a deal on Walmart - crib for $149 with FREE mattress and .97 cent shipping to your home! What?! And it was ALMOST exactly the crib I had picked out. Both Graco. Literally one TINY detail different - what a deal. So happy. The mattress is here, so waiting on the crib now!

I ordered this print for his collage wall. Honestly, it is the CUTEST thing ever. Gotta love Etsy! It was only like $6.00 too - even with shipping! It's 5x7 and I'll put it in a white frame. Can't waittttt.

Oh! His nursery is going to be dinosaurs and robots - not TOO much of each, just cute little details. Dinosaur crib sheet and sticker decal, robot figurine (see next pic) and print (see above), etc. You're not really going to walk in the room and go OMG dinosaurs, or OMG robots. It's just going to be cute little touches. You ARE however, going to walk in his room and go OMG how cute. ;)

I realize that this next item might not appeal to everyone, but I think he's soo cute. He's going to sit on a little shelf - he's only 2" tall. And Parker's name decal has mustaches in it, so I think it was just perfect with the theme! His name is Mustachio and he also came from Etsy.

And last but not least in my randommm post - painting Parker's room! I am LOVING how the color is coming out.

All cleaned out, except for his stuff!

Took the door off the closet all by myself!

I think it looks much more open without it.

I picked this brown for our computer room.

It was my mom's idea to leave the bottom half

this color for his room - great idea!

Blue is Tropical Holiday by Behr. LOVE it! <3

(The closet will be WHITE!)

I'm thinking that the blue will be done tomorrow (finish cutting in in the morning, roll in the afternoon). Next weekend we are going to get the chair rail (LOVE the one I picked out), cut that, paint it white and paint the trim and the closet in the room white.

Once all the painting is done, Doug can set up the crib! I am SO excited. Once that happens, all we have to do is get the changing table/dresser combo in there, and then it's just all about the details! We already have his ADORABLE name decal for above the crib.. then it's the spice rack bookshelves, the shelf with hooks, the corner shelf, the curtains and crib sheets (which I plan to make... we'll see how that goes. I also want to make a quilt... and I'm doing really well working on an Amigurumi crochet elephant!.. I'm thinking I'll do a blanket too.), the dinosaur decal, his Pottery Barn personalized chair, his collage wall, and a few other framed art prints throughout. Plus the closet project - add additional bar, the some small beams, add some hooks.

It's all coming together! Feels AMAZING.

I've also been feeling him a LOT more and a LOT stronger lately. It's like he's doing little somersaults. Honestly, So NEAT. It started yesterday - after I had a talk with him two days in a row about how I wanted to start feeling him more. Good boy! He listens to his mommy already. :)

15 weeks!!

How far along? 15 weeks. <3
Total weight gain/loss: Almost 10 lbs!
Maternity clothes? Yes! Most regular tops are snug, although since I've always liked long stuff, they're still working (especially tank tops). But I had to buy a pair of maternity jeans - love them! Very comfy. And ANOTHER bra. I'm up one size and TWO cups. Holy cow. 
Stretch marks? Some on my boobs. Boo. :(
Sleep: Eh.. it's hit or miss, depending on how loud the upstairs neighbors are and how much Doug is snoring! Getting up to pee usually too.
Best moment this week: Finding out our little babe is a BOY! 
Miss Anything? Nope! I feel great!!!
Movement: Yes! Little tiny ones, only on the left side. Can't wait 'til they're stronger and more frequent! 
Food cravings: Ice cream, although it's been giving me a headache.. and anything anyone else has lol. I'm hungry all the time.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Eh, not really. 
Have you started to show yet: Ohhhh yes lol. TWO strangers have now asked when I was due! 
Gender prediction: He's all boy!  
Labor Signs: Nope.
Belly Button in or out? It's still "in", but it seems to be sloooowly getting less "deep" lol. -- Same! Wedding rings on or off? Engagement ring on whenever I leave the house.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!!
Looking forward to: Our next ultrasound (May 29th), feeling more movements, showing even more!! 

Daddy's goofy! Pointin to the belly lol.

It's a..............

BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mommy's instinct really is right most of the time! Or at least it was in our case. I thought Daddy was sure baby was a boy too, but on the day of the party his official guess was GIRL. He admitted that he really didn't know, and had gone back and forth! Well, Mommy's guess was 110% boy - no doubt in my mind - and I was right.

Baby Ackerman is ALL boy! And he is no longer being referred to as IT or THE BABY.. or even Baby Ackerman! He is Parker Alexander. Our son. :) It feels AMAZING to be able to say that.

I had ZERO gender disappointment. I had researched it and worried about it, but the second I cut into that cake and it was blue, I felt fine! More than fine, great! I cried (so did both Grandma's and Doug's cousin lol, and I think my sister teared up a bit too) and was just SO happy to be able to put a name with our LONG awaited little bundle of joy. My brother (name - Alexander) is THRILLED to have a little namesake. We are just SO happy.

P.S. I had no idea I had lurkers waiting to know the gender of our little baby! What a bad blogger I am, haha! How sweet of you guys, thank you!!

Last night!

Well, here it is. The last night that we will refer to baby as "the baby" or "he or she" or "it"!! We had an AMAZING gender ultrasound today - 15 minutes of joy. Her machine is ten times better than even the one at the hospital for the NT scan. We got to see SO many details of our little bundle - except one! Only a few people know that little detail at this moment. My sister being one - she ordered the cake. The rest of us will find out tomorrow when we cut into it!

It still feels SO surreal to be here. Even after 8 or 9 ultrasounds, I STILL feel like I'm watching someone else's baby up on the screen, or looking at pictures of someone else's baby. It's so strange. I wonder if I would feel that way if we got pregnant right away. Probably not. I just wondered and longed for this soo much for soo long that at times I never really thought it would happen. So, it just doesn't feel *real* now that it is happening! If it is a dream though, I hope I never wake up!

Doug and I are both over 100% convinced this baby is a boy. Mason is as well, and the woman who did our ultrasound today said that the little one's usually know - which I was just reading about on BabyCenter too! Very interesting. Well, if it is our little boy, we already have a name for him, a nursery theme, a paint color picked out - even his name banner to go on the wall behind his crib! He's all set! And if it's our little girl - let's just say that we will be FLOORED.

Can't wait for the party tomorrow! Will update ASAP :)

I skipped 13 weeks. :(

How far along? 14 weeks. <3
Total weight gain/loss: About 5-6 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Still rocking 1 pair of my normal jeans, because they're stretchy and low-rise. Not for long though, they get uncomfy when I'm sitting, especially if I eat. -- Yup! I did get a pair of maternity pants and another maternity top - so comfy.
Stretch marks? Not yet! (Fingers crossed)
Sleep: Some nights I don't wake up at all, some nights I wake up 3-4 times to pee.
Best moment this week: Feeling little movements!
Miss Anything? Nope! I feel great!
Movement: Yes! Little tiny ones, only on the left side.
Food cravings: Not really - I love everything haha!!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Eh, not really.
Have you started to show yet: Ohhhh yes lol.
Gender prediction: Doug and I are both thinking boy. A few people are guessing girl though :)
Labor Signs: Nope.
Belly Button in or out? It's still "in", but it seems to be sloooowly getting less "deep" lol. -- Same.Wedding rings on or off? Engagement ring on whenever I leave the house.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!!
Looking forward to: Gender ultrasound on Saturday and gender reveal party on Sunday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've never been more excited in my LIFE. <3